Pink and Blue
by general whitefur
Summary: Taking place in the time between Adventures and Assault, Krystal gets to know both the Star Fox team as well as the world that they protect. Through it all the lovely miss Katt Monroe is at her side to help her navigate even the most mundane yet alien aspects of her new home, making certain that for Krystal no one fits the definition of "best friend" better than the pink feline.
1. Chapter 1 Welcome to Corneria City

A/N: I know that some of you were probably expecting an update to Honeymoon on Zoness, and I apologize for the hold up, chapter two of the romance between Panther and Krystal is forthcoming and should be up very soon, I ran into some problems with my college classes that I had to spend last weekend sorting out. Never talk about geology around me. Ever. Either way I thought I would put this up since I had the first chapter finished and I was going to put it up anyways. So here it is, Pink and Blue, this story is going to have more a sort of episodic feel to it rather than a chapter by chapter sort of thing, but if I manage to stick to my plan each and every one of these episodes will give you a hearty dose of Katt and Krystal with plenty of humor and friendship in the mix. The rest of the cast will of course be making appearances, but the main characters are going to be our pink and blue ladies. Now enough from me let's get on with the story shall we? And if you enjoy the story please leave a review, I love to hear what y'all are thinking about my stories!

-general whitefur

* * *

Pink and Blue

Chapter One

Welcome to Corneria City

Katt Monroe sighed as she pressed her paw to the scanner by her apartment door. After a brief flash of light from the glass screen the door lock clicked and Katt pushed her way inside. As Katt threw her purse and leather jacket onto one of the pink chairs and flopped down on the pink couch, her whole apartment was pink, she grumbled to herself briefly to vent the frustrations of the day. Katt truly enjoyed her job at _The Wild Animal_, some might think a woman who worked at a topless bar had simply decided she had no other place to go, but then that person more than likely had never grown up as a teenager on Corneria in the middle of the last big sexual revolution, Katt didn't mind being stared at a bit if it made her good money, and it did. The fact that she had an apartment in the middle of Corneria City all to herself and had managed to furnish it to her pinkish desires were a testament to the fact that she made enough not to have to worry about money. It was however the fact that she had the apartment all to herself that seemed to make the days spent there seem a little...boring.

When Katt had been younger, though to be fair she had only just turned twenty-six, she had always had roommates wherever she lived. At the time the seeming absence of personal space and any serious measure of privacy, as well as the fact that she had never been able to convince anyone that an apartment should be as pink as possible, had seemed unbearable. Now however Katt found herself wishing she had someone to come home to, even if it was just a ditzy college girl roommate. _Actually if it were an attractive ditzy college girl it might be even better._ She mused to herself. Either way it seemed that Katt was doomed to living alone, at least until she found a lover that she didn't always feel like kicking out as fast as possible in the morning. Falco included.

Letting out a yawn and a big stretch Katt stood up and went to check her perso-com. Taking the small rectangle from her purse she activated it and scrolled through her messages. Nothing interesting except for..."Wait a minute, why is there a voice mail from Fox?" She and Fox were good friends no doubt, but last time she had heard he had been on Dinosaur Planet on a mission. Katt doubted her perso-com had the range to connect to his on the other side of the Lylat system. For a moment Katt considered calling him back but decided against it, her shift had ended at 2:00 AM and right now all she felt like doing was taking a shower and then collapsing on her bed for a good eight hours sleep. With that in mind Katt stowed away her perso-com in her purse and then made her way to the bathroom, she would call Fox tomorrow and find out what he wanted.

* * *

"What's Corneria like Fox?" Krystal asked the chestnut furred vulpine as they sat together in one of the common rooms at the Cornerian Defense Academy. It had been two days since the tod had rescued her on Dinosaur Planet and she hadn't been able to leave the base since arriving on Corneria. Krystal had always been adventurous by nature and staying cooped up behind the walls of the facility all day and night had caused her to start feeling a bit antsy. At the very least however it had allowed her more time with Fox, and though he still seemed a bit shy around her he had, for the most part, managed to start making complete sentences when speaking with her. Krystal decided that that in and of itself could be counted as a victory, he just needed time to get a little more comfortable with her presence, and likely her appearance as well, she still wore her tribal Cerinian clothes.

"What do you mean? You're here." Fox replied, his expression curious.

"I've been sitting here in the Academy for two days, I haven't actually seen much of your world. Tell me about it, please?" Krystal asked Fox, she crossed her legs and gave him her best curious vixen look.

"Well uh, let me think." Fox replied, clearly trying not to address her legs. "It's big, lot's of forests, mountains, and deserts. Huge ocean. And the capital, Corneria City is the largest city in Lylat."

Krystal nodded, that much she had gleaned from the records in the ship's computer. "I read about the ocean, it covers only seventy percent of the planet."

Fox glanced at her, "Only?"

"My home world was almost all ocean, there were a some large islands, but no continents." Krystal explained. She managed to keep herself from sounding emotional at recalling her former home, she would never get it back, and she wanted to do her best not to let the pain stay forever.

"Oh. Wait how did you know the ocean covers seventy percent of Corneria? Did Peppy tell you?" Fox asked, his face a study in confusion.

Krystal smiled, "I can read Lylatian. I've been wandering around the galaxy for some time on my own, I can read your language, and kind of speak it."

Fox chuckled, "I think you speak it better than I do."

"Maybe." Krystal answered, "But I only know proper words, I don't know any slang. And even so there are plenty of words and expressions that escape me."

"Well I'm sure you'll learn some of the slang pretty fast once we can start going out more...uh I mean..."

Wagging her tail Krystal said, "I know what you mean, and I can't wait."

The doors to the common area opened and Krystal picked up the mind of Falco Lombardi entering the room. "Sorry you two, didn't know you were in here by yourselves. I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

Krystal noticed Fox blush, she would have to ask him why he always seemed to do that when Falco told him that he was alone with her. Truth be told she didn't quite know what to think about how Fox felt towards her, she had agreed not to use her telepathy to read his or anyone else's mind without their express permission, her passive telepathy couldn't tell her much more than who was in a room, and so she really only had the simple physical and verbal cues to go off of. It hardly seemed enough, her own people expressed themselves differently, and besides she had always been used to reading someone else's intentions directly.

"Falco! Uh, no you didn't interrupt anything. I was just talking to Krystal."

"I can see that Foxie. Well don't mind me, I'll just be over here watching TV."

Krystal watched as the blue feathered avian walked over to a couch and turned on the TV. When she looked back at Fox she noticed him checking his perso-com, curious she asked, "Expecting a call?"

Fox looked up and nodded, "Yeah actually." The small rectangle started ringing, "And here it is. Just a minute."

Krystal waited well Fox walked a short distance away, he was out of earshot for the most part though she did pick up a few words here and there, "Thanks cat...Yeah...Perfect you two should...All right bye...yes I will."

Fox put his perso-com back in his pocket before sitting down next to her, "Were you talking to a feline?"

"Oh uh, yeah. Katt Monroe."

Krystal cocked her head, "Her name is cat?"

"Yeah, K-a-t-t though, but yeah she's a cat named Katt."

"So then who is she?" Asked Krystal, "Girlfriend?"

Fox blushed like mad at that, "Oh no, no, no. We're friends and she's a girl but we're not uh, not uh, well not like that."

Krystal resisted the urge to giggle, Fox's behavior hadn't struck as the kind that would mean he was seeing someone, but she had had the feeling that asking a question like that would embarrass him and, good thing or not, Fox looked very cute when he blushed. "Oh, well then what was the call about?"

Fox smiled then, "Well I can tell you haven't much enjoyed being cooped up here at the Academy all day, and whether I like it or not this is where I'm going to be most days so I figured I'd try and find someone else for you to stay with."

Krystal cocked her head to one side, this idea interested her. "Does she live in the city?"

"Yep, she actually has a really nice apartment in one of the big buildings. She said she'd love to have you stay with her while the team is staying here on planet, so long as you don't mind sharing with her?"

"Is she nice?"

There was a sudden guffaw from where Falco sat, both Krystal and Fox looked over at him, "Ignore me, Katt is a perfectly nice woman unless you piss her off." Falco said without turning from the TV screen.

Krystal quirked an eyebrow at Fox, "Do he and this Katt have a..."

"History?" Fox supplied. Krystal nodded, "Yeah, little bit. Don't worry though, Katt's probably one of the nicest girls in the world. And she knows the city like the back of her paw, if anyone can show you all the best spots and help you to get to know the city and the people, well Katt's the best person for that."

Krystal smiled, "Well then that sounds great. When do we meet her?"

Fox shrugged, "We can go as soon as you're ready to leave. Do you need time to pack?"

Shaking her head Krystal answered, "Not really, all I have is my staff, a few books, and a spare change of clothes. All of which are still in the bag you gave me. We can go now if you want."

Fox smiled then and stood up, "All right then, grab your bag and I'll drive you over to her flat."

"Flat?" Krystal asked as she followed Fox out of the common area.

Fox looked at her, "Oh uh, it's just another word for apartment. Gosh you really don't know any slang do you?"

"No, none."

"Don't worry, Katt will have you speaking like a local before you know it."

Krystal smiled again, "That would be wonderful. I have a feeling my accent already makes me stick out a bit."

Stopping at her quarters Krystal grabbed her bag, checked the room once to make sure she really hadn't unpacked anything and then turned back to Fox.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready."

"Well then let's go. It's not too long a drive, even with the traffic this time of day."

Fox led Krystal out of the instructors barracks that the team had been staying in and towards the parking garage. It never ceased to amaze Krystal just how many people on Corneria owned their own vehicles, not to mention the variety that were to be seen. Hovercars as well as wheeled vehicles, and of more styles than she had seen in all her travels, even on technologically advanced worlds. Slipping into the passenger seat alongside Fox she smiled and said, "I can't wait to meet her."

Fox keyed the ignition and the humming noise of the vehicle's anti-grav field filled the air for a moment as it initialized, the sound became barely noticeable a moment later. "I'm glad, Katt said she's can't wait to meet you either. I have a feeling you two should hit it off."

As the car pulled out of the garage Krystal asked, "Does that mean we should like each other?"

Fox chuckled, "Yes. It's a good thing Katt has a degree as a linguist, you really do need help with the local dialect."

Krystal crossed her arms and made a mock pout, "Be nice to me, I'm from another world."

"Oh! Uh sorry, I know I shouldn't uh..."

Giggling Krystal replied, "Fox I was only teasing. It's fine."

The tod breathed a sigh of relief, "Sorry, I suppose I should have guessed."

Shaking her head Krystal decided to have a mercy on her new friend and occupy herself with the city as it passed by her window. And besides she didn't want to distract Fox too much, the last thing she need was for the poor tod to crash into something while frantically trying to make amends for a non-existent offense. Fortunately the view outside proved enthralling to Krystal, she decided she really was looking forward to exploring the city for awhile, and it would be made better by having someone to help guide her, even if Fox wouldn't be the one doing it. _I'll still see him, I'll make certain of that. _Krystal thought to herself, she knew deep down that she wanted to get to know Fox even more than this new world, much more.

* * *

Katt looked around her apartment for the thirtieth time. She wanted to make sure everything looked nice for Fox's new friend. When she had listened to Fox's message she had been thrilled to learn that he had returned from Dinosaur Planet accompanied by a blue vixen, a girl that he had risked his life to save. Katt thought it sounded like something out of a storybook, but then Fox himself tended to act like a guy out of a storybook, at least when he wasn't in combat mode. Either way Katt had been even more thrilled to learn that Fox wanted to know if the blue vixen, Krystal, could stay with her for awhile while the team waited for the refits to the Great Fox and the Arwings. It seemed that the days of living alone were coming to an end just as they were beginning to become truly unbearable.

Katt had then proceeded to spend the rest of her morning cleaning up her apartment, making sure the pink carpeting was vacuumed, that any and all shedding was under control, the kitchenette clean and devoid of a stack of disgusting dirty dishes, and that the bathroom was sterile enough to eat inside of. Satisfied that her attack on all cleaning fronts approach had been a success she had returned Fox's call and told him that he could go ahead and bring his friend over whenever he felt ready.

_BZZZ!_

Smiling Katt went over to the intercom by her door, pressing the talk button she said, "Fox?"

_"Yeah, can we come up?"_

"Sure thing, I'll leave the door open."

_"Thank you."_

Katt opened her door and then waited a few minutes for Fox to walk through. She noticed the slight blush on his face and asked, "What is it? I'm wearing clothes this time you know. Unless you always blush around girls."

Fox rolled his eyes, "It isn't you, though thank you for being fully clothed in your own home for once. And before you ask yes, fan mob."

Katt snorted, "Oh to be a hero. Where's Krystal?"

"Right here."

Katt tried not to let her eyes widen at the sight of the blue vixen as she came walking through the door. She was literally wearing nothing but a brass bra and a white linen loin cloth. Combine that with the fact that she was, by any standards, absolutely gorgeous and Katt found herself seriously trying to resist the urge to thank the divine for sending her this new roommate. "Hi, I'm Katt Monroe."

"Krystal."

"So I hear Foxie rescued you on Dinosaur Planet."

Katt watched as Krystal directed a glance at Fox, Fox simply smiled a bit and blushed. _Someone has the hots for this vixen._ "Yes he did."

"Well good going Fox, you're face is all over the news for saving the galaxy again."

Fox sighed, "Don't remind me. Do you have anything to drink?"

"Yeah, there's soda in the fridge and water of course. Oh and iced tea as well. If you need something stronger though..."

Fox smiled, "Water will be fine."

As Fox walked over to the kitchen Katt said, "Come on in and sit down Krystal, we might as well get comfortable if we're going to be roomies."

Krystal smiled and headed for the couch while Katt shut the door and then joined her. "I like your place."

Katt sat on the easy chair and smiled, "Don't lie if it's too pink for you."

Krystal shrugged, "No I like it. It shows you aren't ashamed of what you like."

Katt laughed, "That's one way to look at it. Honestly though most people think this much pink is too much."

"Well plenty of people think having blue fur is strange, hasn't made me dye my fur has it?"

"I suppose not." Katt answered.

Fox rejoined them then, sitting down next to Krystal, though Katt noticed he kept a little distance between the two of them, he said, "So how is life treating you Katt?"

"Can't complain. I love my job, got a good flat, new flatmate. Things can't get much better can they?" Katt said.

"You know Falco is back right?"

Katt grabbed her tail and busied herself picking an imaginary knot out of the fur, she didn't want Fox to notice the little light she was sure had come to her eyes. She hated how the mention of that avian actually made her heart flutter a little bit every time she heard it. "Oh?"

"Are you going to go see him at all?"

Katt looked back up from her tail, "Maybe, you guys are going to be here awhile anyways, I'm sure I'll bump into him." Fox sipped from his water, Katt tried not to growl at the look of amusement on her friend's face. "Don't be smug."

"I'm not being smug." Fox replied.

Katt rolled her eyes, "Uh huh. So..."

The sound of Fox's perso-com ringing interrupted Katt's sentence, "Sorry, I better take this." Fox apologized as he got up and walked a short distance away.

"What were you going to say?" Krystal asked.

"Oh I was just going to ask how long you've been here?" Katt replied.

"Two days, though this is the first time I've been outside of the Academy walls."

Katt looked horrified and she truly was, what had Fox been thinking keeping this poor girl within the confines of the Cornerian Defense Academy for two days without letting her see the city? _And with an outfit like that I don't even want to think about the attention from the cadets...and the instructors. Ew._ "Girl! Well it's a good thing Fox got here when he did."

Fox returned then and said, "I'm going to have to bail on you two, Slippy says there's some sort of trouble with getting the refit to the Great Fox started and that they need me to come help sort it out."

Katt got up and hugged Fox before saying, "You go sort out your battlecruiser, and don't worry Krystal will be safe with me."

Fox quirked an eyebrow, "I'm sure you'll want to keep her close."

Blushing Katt shook her head, "Just get out before this cat gets your tongue."

' Fox smiled and said goodbye to Krystal before leaving. Krystal then stood up and walked over to Katt, "What did he mean by you wanting to keep me close?"

"Nothing really, he's just being an ass."

Krystal looked at her curiously, "I've never heard anyone describe Fox that way before, well then again I think Falco had a few choice words at one point on the trip here."

Snorting Katt replied, "I'm sure he did. Don't let them fool you though, they have one of the biggest non-sexual bromances I have ever encountered."

"Bromance?" Krystal asked.

"You don't know any slang do you?" Krystal shook her head, "Figures. Well a bromance just means two guys who are really close friends, and it generally means they aren't having sex with each other either. Just really, really good friends."

Krystal nodded her comprehension, "I take it then that Falco and Fox have know each other a long time?"

"Ages, though Falco and I have known each other since we were toddlers."

"Really?"

"It's not as great as it sounds." Katt answered, though if Katt were to be honest sometimes she missed the way Falco had followed her around like a little chick when he had been just a little chick. Liking someone when you were four or five years old was a lot less complicated then when you got into your teens and twenties. "Come on, I want to show you something."

Leading Krystal over to a sliding glass door Katt quickly moved the blinds and opened it before leading the blue vixen onto her thirtieth floor balcony. Katt loved her balcony, even if at this height there tended to be a constant breeze, most days it felt good whipping through her hair and so she really couldn't complain.

Krystal for her part looked awestruck as she walked out onto the balcony and placed her paws on the railing looking out at the panorama of the city in front of them. Skyscrapers pierced the horizon, sunlight glittered on thousands of glass windows, and out beyond the urban landscape the blue waters of Corneria City bay, crossed by a massive steel bridge, offered views of ships coming in and out of the docks., "Oh wow."

Smiling Katt said, "Welcome to Corneria City."


	2. Chapter 2 Getting to Know Each Other

A/N: Woo hoo! Updates this weekend huh? Honeymoon on Zoness, my lovely, rebellious, likely rage inducing amongst some Panther Krystal romance was updated last night, and now I bring you this update for Pink and Blue. There a couple of Latin words in this chapter, and no I did not actually Google translate them, never use Google for Latin, it's dumb as shit. The point though is that if you spot them, that shouldn't be hard Latin sticks out, I'd love to know how many of you can actually figure it out without Google translate. And seriously if you pay attention to context it should be pretty obvious what it means. But enough of my ramblings! Read on, enjoy, and let me know what you think!

-general whitefur

* * *

Chapter Two

Getting to Know Each Other

Krystal woke up the next morning to the feeling of sunlight falling on her muzzle. As her nose and fur began to warm up a bit her eyes fluttered open and she yawned while stretching her arms and legs. Checking the clock by her bed Krystal noted the time as nine in the morning, an acceptable time to be getting up here on Corneria, at least as far as Krystal had been able to tell.

"Krystal?"

The blue vixen's ears perked up at the sound of her roommate's voice floating in from outside of her room. "Yes Katt?"

"Breakfast!"

Krystal sniffed the air and detected the scent of what smelled like, while she actually wasn't quite sure what it smelled like. For now she would simply settle on saying that whatever it was it certainly smelled very good. Throwing the sheets off of her and swinging her legs over the side of the bed Krystal yawned and stretched once more before setting about dressing in her brass top and a spare loin cloth she had with her. _I should probably get some new clothes at some point. _Krystal thought to herself, she had a feeling that her traditional style of dress didn't really fit with what most Cornerians wore day to day, that and she didn't have all that many changes of clothes with her to begin with. At the very least she would need to do some laundry.

Making her way out of her bedroom and out into the living room Krystal said, "What's for breakfast Katt?"

In response to her question the pink feline popped up from behind the kitchenette's counter with a smile and said, "Waffles. What? Krystal why are you blushing?"

Krystal could feel the tips of her ears heating up a bit as she looked at the pink feline, "Well uh...Katt why don't you have any top on?"

Looking at her curiously Katt said, "Why should I? I'm in my own apartment on the thirtieth floor of a residential high rise. It's not like I have to deal with peeping toms. I like to let myself breathe a little. Unless my pink breasts and lovely nipple rings are going to distract you." The feline said, looking positively mischievous as she teased the poor vixen.

Krystal simply shook her head, "No it's fine."

"If you don't mind my asking, why do you wear that?"

"Wear what?"

Pointing to her chest Katt said, "That brass top, it cannot be comfortable. Though I will say it's pretty good looking. Uncomfortable but good looking."

Krystal shrugged, "It's what the females of my world wore. Though you are right, it isn't very comfortable most of the time. It's awfully constricting and sometimes it chafes my nipples a little."

"Well then," Katt said, "Take the darn thing off, it's just me, I don't mind."

Smiling a bit shyly Krystal unbuckled the top and then breathed an immediate sigh of relief. "Oh that is better. Katt?"

Krystal noticed the pink feline's eyes had gotten a bit wider, "Damn girl, where have those been?"

Feeling herself start to blush again Krystal answered, "Well I did tell you it felt constricting."

Katt smiled, "I guess so. Oh don't worry, if you won't stare at mine I promise not to stare at yours. Come on, waffles are ready."

As the initial embarrassment wore off and Krystal sat down at the counter to be served breakfast Krystal had to admit that she did feel remarkably more comfortable. And, making sure not to stare at Katt's piercings, Krystal watched as Katt set down two plates filled with a stack of geometric brown colored squares covered in a syrup that smelled positively delicious. "Are these waffles?"

Katt sat down at the counter next to her and smiled, "Sure are, one of the best and easiest to make breakfast foods out there. I take it you've never had them before?"

Krystal shook her head, "No, but Fox did make pancakes for me the days I was at the Academy."

Smiling Katt took her fork and knife and dug into her plate, "McCloud made you pancakes?" Krystal nodded, "Well then trust me when I say you will never be able to enjoy a pancake again."

"Why?" Krystal asked as she did her best to imitate how Katt was slicing up her waffles and then spearing them with the fork. It seemed similar to how she had eaten the pancakes Fox had made. Krystal was beginning to think the Lylatians had been much better at inventing practical eating utensils than her people had been. The Cerinian equivalent of the fork, knife, and spoon could be a bit tricky to master, the Cornerian version however seemed positively idiot proof, for which Krystal found herself increasingly thankful.

"Because Fox McCloud makes the best darn pancakes I, or anyone else, has ever or will ever eat. Fox is a good cook in general most of the time, but breakfast foods and especially pancakes, well I think he could make a good living doing that instead of flying around shooting at people."

Krystal smiled, "Well if he made pancakes for a living I would have been in trouble. I don't fancy he would have been able to come to my rescue with a frying pan."

Katt laughed and asked, "How are the waffles?"

"Fantastic." Krystal replied. Katt's waffles were proving a bit crunchier than the pancakes she had eaten but, with the syrup on them, they were definitely just as tasty, there seemed to be just one thing missing in the breakfast ensemble though. "Do you have anything to wash it down?"

"Oh right!" Katt said shaking her head and her own absentmindedness, "What do you prefer, tea or coffee?"

Krystal thought for a moment, she had tried coffee at the Academy and frankly the bitter taste hadn't sat very well with her. "Tea."

Katt got up and headed for the kitchen, "Good because that's what I was planning on this morning. Have you had coffee though?"

"At the Academy. It tasted a little too bitter for me."

"That's because you were probably having military surplus coffee from the Lylat Wars." Katt said, her tail swaying a bit as she poured tea into two pink mugs.

"One of these days I'll take you to Novabucks, best damn coffee in Lylat."

Krystal smiled, "That sounds good then. Katt?"

Returning to the counter and setting down a mug next to Krystal's plate she said, "What is it Krystal?"

Krystal took a sip of her tea before continuing, it had a bit of an orangey flavor that she liked. "I hope this doesn't sound weird but, has Fox always been very shy around women?"

Katt smiled, "Yeah pretty much. It takes him awhile to get comfortable around just about anybody though. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, it's just he always seems to be blushing and trying to apologize around me. It's cute but..."

"I know." Katt replied, "It gets a little annoying after awhile."

Krystal finished another bite of her waffle before answering, "I just don't understand what seems to make him so uncomfortable around me. Is it something to do with me?"

Katt couldn't help but laugh, "Krystal, of course it's something to do with you."

"What though?"

Holding up her paw Katt said, "Oh let me count the ways. One, you're beautiful." Krystal blushed a bit at that, "Two, you're outfit is a bit more revealing than most guys are used to. Three, you have a certain confidence that frankly turns just about anybody on, and once again a lot of guys aren't used to. Need I go on?"

Krystal smiled, "So in other words I'm very attractive?"

"Oh yes, forgive me for saying so but you, Krystal, are hot stuff."

"Why hot stuff?" Krystal asked, genuinely curious as to whether being hot was a good thing.

"I'm going to have my work cut out for me when it comes to teaching you the local dialect aren't I?"

"Mmhmm." Krystal replied. "So is it a good thing?"

Katt just smiled, "Yes, a very, very good thing. Most girls I've met would kill to have a body like yours. Actually that reminds me I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"I suppose it's my turn for a potentially weird question but, how old are you?" Katt asked.

Krystal thought about that for a moment, the years were a bit different on Cerinia which meant that her chronological age there wouldn't be the same as her chronological age in Lylat. Krystal did her best to try and reconcile the two dating systems, she had never been good at math and for a moment she wished that Slippy were there to help her figure it out. Despite the toad's absence however Krystal managed to surprise herself and come up with the age in only a moment's thought. "In Lylatian years I think I would be about nineteen, though I was over twenty on my world."

"Oh, wow you are young." Katt said, "Does Fox know?"

Krystal felt herself blush a bit, she hoped that her relatively young age wouldn't be a problem for the people she had just met. "Well uh, no. He hasn't asked me how old I am yet so...Katt is that going to be a problem?"

The pink feline shrugged, "Probably not. Not if he really likes you, and certainly not if you're only going to be friends. I wouldn't worry too much."

"Is it going to be a problem for you?" Krystal asked, she wanted to make certain seeing as she would be living with the feline for the foreseeable future.

Laughing Katt said, "Oh heck no girl, you're over eighteen which means I'm fine."

Krystal cocked her head and asked, "What does being over eighteen have to do with it?"

Much to Krystal's surprise a bit of color suddenly came to her new pink friend's face when she heard the question, she could even sense a bit of embarrassment akin to what Fox usually felt when she said something he thought was awkward. "Oh nothing. It's just around here if you're over eighteen you tend not to hang around anyone who isn't, well in any way other than just friends."

"Why though?"

Katt shrugged, "Done with your waffles?" she asked, Krystal nodded and waited while Katt took them with her to be put in the sink. "I don't really know how things worked on your world, but here on Corneria people over a certain age aren't supposed to have sex with anyone under a certain age."

Krystal thought about that for a moment before saying, "Well I suppose that makes sense. On Cerinia I suppose the equivalent would be marriageable age."

"No love making before marriage then?" Katt asked as she grabbed her tea mug and headed to the couch.

Krystal took her own half full mug and followed, "Not exactly." She said as she sat down next to Katt.

"What does that mean?"

Krystal shrugged, "People certainly fornicated a bit, a lot of young men and women did, but sort of like how you explained it anyone old enough to be married wasn't allowed that sort of thing with anyone too young. Why are you so curious?"

"I don't know, call it a weakness of mine but sex has always interested me. Did people not really talk about it on, Cerinia right?"

"Yes Cerinia. And no we didn't really." Krystal answered.

"Taboo thing? Sex must be kept private?"

A smile crept onto Krystal muzzle, "Quite the opposite actually. Did I tell you I was telepathic?"

Krystal tried not to giggle at the look of shock that took hold of the pink cat's face. Krystal felt reasonably sure she had never in her life seen someone's eyes go that wide, or a feline's fur poof out quite that much. "You mean you can read people's minds?"

"Mmhmm."

"Wow. What am I thinking?" Katt asked, her shocked look replaced by one of profound interest as she leaned a bit closer to the vixen.

"You want me to read your mind?" Krystal asked, "It's important that I have your permission first since you aren't Cerinian."

"You got it girl. Read away."

"All right." Krystal said, she closed her eyes for a moment and extended her telepathy, feeling just far enough into the other girl's being that she could pick up on the most prevalent surface thoughts. Krystal had a feeling that delving into the subconscious would be rude even if she had been given permission. "Katt!"

"What?" Katt asked.

"Stop thinking about my breasts!" Krystal said, though she had to keep her amusement out of her voice. She could tell it was a thought that had entered Katt's mind quite unbidden, still the blue vixen was nothing if not mischievous when she wanted to be.

Katt shook her head and leaned back, "Sorry, I'll try and keep that under control. Can't blame a girl for being interested though."

"I suppose not." Krystal answered, "It's flattering to know you like them."

Blushing a bit Katt said, "Maybe we should change the subject, even I can be embarrassed every once in awhile."

"You don't have to be, there was never any taboo on Cerinia about, oh what's the Lylatian word for it?"

"Homosexuality?" Katt supplied.

"Yes." Krystal said, "How could there be when our entire civilization only had a few large islands to live on? The capacity for love and love making without having children was seen as a gift from the gods by my people."

Katt smiled, "Now that's a nice way to look at it, I'm gifted. Though I like men too so don't get your hopes up."

"Oh I can tell." Krystal answered.

"You still haven't answered my question though, about whether Cerinians talked about sex or not."

"Not really, we're telepathic and we can always sense heightened emotions. There's no need to talk about something you can sense." Krystal answered, "I suppose we didn't discuss it simply out of courtesy, we all knew whenever it was happening. Does that make sense?"

Katt nodded, "I think so, though I can't imagine what that must be like. Seems like it would get a bit awkward at times."

"Maybe in Lylat, but when your whole species is telepathic and constantly picking up on one and others emotions and feelings and even thoughts, well feeling awkward about things just isn't practical. After all if we did we'd all be blushing stuttering messes our entire lives." Krystal explained.

"Hmm, sounds like a certain tod that we both happen to know." Katt said, a glint in her eyes.

Krystal giggled a bit but said, "Oh don't be mean, he's really a dear. New question though."

"Go ahead."

"You said you and Falco have known each other since you were toddlers, right?" Katt nodded, "How did you two meet then?"

Katt leaned back and smiled a bit, "Well here's how it went down, Falco and I were out at the park with our parents, and you may or may not be aware but cat's tend to love sand. So I was in the sandbox as was Falco, he was using a shovel that just so happened to be pink, and pink is something that draws me like gravity. Being four years old though I had a lot less restraint than I do now, so I just stole it from him. He tried to get it back and I socked him in the beak, after which he ran crying to his parents. We've been friends ever since."

Krystal stared at Katt for a moment trying to comprehend how punching someone in, for all intents and purposes, the face would lead to a lifelong friendship. "I'm not sure I understand how that works."

Laughing Katt said, "You know neither do I. It just did. I mean I had to give the shovel back as soon as his parents found my parents, and I think he felt bad that I got scolded in front of all the other kids in the park so he agreed to share the shovel with me. So it worked out in the end."

"You know he seems to think of you with a bit of..."

"Fear?"

Krystal laughed, "One way of putting it. You see when he overheard Fox saying that you were a really nice girl..."

"Ah he said that about me?" Katt said, looking very happy at the idea that Fox thought of her as a nice girl.

"Yes he did. But Falco sort of just guffawed and said that you were unless you were angry. Is it something between you two?" Krystal asked, she hoped she wasn't prying. She didn't really know what the protocol on Corneria tended to be when it came to personal questions. Her own people as she had explained to Katt had never really thought of privacy in the same way as the Lylatians, and Krystal didn't want to offend Katt by asking too much about her too soon, they had only known each other a day after all.

Sighing Katt answered, "We've had our arguments in the past, and even an attempt or two at going beyond friendship. They've never ended very well, so I suppose Falco might sound a little bitter when he mentions me sometimes."

Krystal simply nodded. She didn't want to start making assumptions but Krystal had the feeling that both Falco and Katt were very much alike in terms of personality. That being said Krystal could also sense a lingering feeling of hurt from Katt when she talked about her and Falco in a relationship. The blue vixen decided however that now might not really be the appropriate time to ask any more questions about that, everyone had their limits, and Krystal didn't really want to push Katt much further than she already had. _All these private feelings they have, it's going to be a nightmare getting used to not being able to talk about them. Problems of a telepath right?_

"Katt, do you have any movies?" Krystal asked, suddenly curious and wanting to move the conversation past the potential awkwardness before it arrived.

"Sure, I have lots of movies. Why?"

"Well when I was in Fox's quarters on the Great Fox...Katt no." Krystal said as she noticed the look on the feline's face.

"Sorry, but I mean he did rescue you and save your life. I've always heard that the girl is suppose to, you know, show her gratitude. I certainly would have."  
Krystal blushed a bit at the thought of showing that level of gratitude to Fox, she had certainly kissed him, or rather demanded he kiss her, but still making love to him seemed a bit much. Although... "Well I did kiss him, and the thought might have crossed my mind for just a moment. Like you said he did save my life. But that isn't what I wanted to ask about."

Katt laughed, "All right, I'm sorry, but you can tell what tends to be on my mind during the day."

Krystal laughed as well, "Don't worry. I was going to ask though why Fox would have a poster on his wall that said _Stellar Bellum_ and had a lot of caped heroes with laser swords or something on it."

"Krystal! You've never even heard of _Stellar Bellum_?"

"Should I have?" Krystal asked, a bit confused.

Hopping off the couch Katt pulled open a drawer beneath her flat screen TV and then held up a large case with six smaller cases inside of it. "_Stellar Bellum_ consists of two of the greatest movie trilogies in the history of Lylat, the first movie came out when I was six, and trust me anyone who was a kid when they came out obsessed over those movies. After the Lylat Wars when the new trilogy started Fox actually made it a point to come back to Corneria to see the new movies."

"I take it they're sort of a big deal then?" Krystal asked, her curiosity had definitely been piqued.

"Um, yeah! Come on we'll watch them, have ourselves a girls day in and a _Stellar Bellum _marathon."

"Sounds good to me." Krystal answered as she settled back into the couch. Katt turned on what Krystal assumed to be some sort of disc reader connected to the TV and then sat back down holding a remote. "Are the movies any good?"

Katt gave her a look that Krystal could only describe as an _are you insane?_ look and replied, "These are literally my childhood Krystal, and the childhood of everyone I know, so if you ask me they're some of the best movies ever created. Just watch, I think you'll like them."

Krystal nodded and relaxed, she couldn't think of anything better to do, and if these movies were that important to Fox and Katt and the rest of the team Krystal had a feeling it would be a good idea to watch them. That and she had never really seen a movie before, Cerinia had had a lot of theater but Krystal really didn't know what to expect from a movie. _Well I've always been adventurous, and having an adventure sitting on the couch without a top on so that I can actually breathe properly for once, well that sounds good to me. _Krystal thought to herself, this was going to be a good day. A bit of a lazy day, but definitely a good day.


	3. Chapter 3 Shopping

A/N: Updates! First Life After Krystal, now Pink and Blue. Gee I wonder whats up next? It couldn't possibly be that apoplexy inducing Panther/Krystal romance of mine. Noooo.

Enough of that though. Chapter three is here and yes! It does concern shopping. Krystal couldn't stay in the brass bikini of hers forever, if only because everyone has to have something to change into when they do laundry. This chapter also includes one of my favorite things to write about in Star Fox, the Corneria City tube. Based loosely off of my experiences with European subways, especially the London tube which is a serious adventure. Other than that we can all sit around and wonder at the fact that a guy just wrote close to four thousand words in a chapter about, primarily it seems, clothes. Being worn no less! Well to hell with gender stereotypes. Read on my friends and let me know what you think, and be on the look out for updates and, if all goes as planned, a little something new!

-general whitefur

* * *

Chapter Three

Shopping

"Katt?"

Katt looked up from her magazine at the sound of Krystal's voice. "Yeah?"

"I think I need some new clothes."

"Ah." Katt regarded the blue vixen. It had been three days since she had arrived at her apartment and she was still wearing her brass bra and loin cloth. Katt would have offered to take her out shopping before now if she hadn't found Krystal's native clothing so utterly mesmerizing. No wonder Fox always seemed to get tongue tied around her. After all who wouldn't get tongue tied when a girl with a body like Krystal's came up to them wearing an outfit that left almost nothing to the imagination? "Well then it's a good thing I have the night off. Come on, we're going shopping."

"Great. But uh..." Krystal trailed off.

Getting up Katt motioned for Krystal to follow her into her bedroom. "I'm sure I have something you can wear."

The blue vixen followed behind looking very eager to try on some new clothing. Katt liked that about Krystal, she seemed so very eager to learn about this new world she was on. Always asking questions, always looking at every mundane appliance in the apartment with a sort of wonder. According to the vixen her world and many of the others she had visited had had similar technologies, but there were some things that went beyond her. For instance the microwave oven; she had been horrified and then astounded at the idea that Cornerians would cook things with radiation of that sort. Katt felt certain that if Krystal had been feline her fur would have puffed out at the sight. Of course now Krystal seemed to enjoy microwaving things more than anyone Katt had ever seen, always staring intently at whatever was inside waiting for that little _ding!_

"Now," Katt said, placing her paws on her hips, "What do I have that you can wear?" Glancing back at the vixen she gave her a once over to try and guess her size. "OK I think we're about the same fit. Just a minute." With that Katt dove into her walk in closet. The amount of clothing inside would have put a royal wardrobe to shame both in terms of bulk and variety. Katt had everything from fancy party dresses to jeans to ugly oversized sweaters for the winter days. "Ah ha!"

Katt emerged from her closet holding a t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. "What do you call them?" Krystal asked.

Handing the garments over to her Katt answered "The top is called a t-shirt and the bottoms are called jeans. Oh!"

"What?"

Katt shook her head. "I forgot you'll need some panties. Wait one!" Katt made her way back inside of the closet. She felt a smile creeping onto her face at the idea that she was lending panties to her new friend, and that they would definitely have to shop for cute underwear while they were out. _This is going to be a good day. Here we are!_

Out of the closet once again Katt handed the undergarments to Krystal. Krystal for her part looked at them a bit incredulously for a moment before saying "They seem a little...lacey."

Katt shrugged. "Those ones yes. I'm sure I can find something less sexy if you want. I've got just about everything in there."

Krystal wagged her tail in response. "I didn't say I didn't like them. Do you mind giving me a little privacy to change?"

"Oh of course. Just come out whenever you're ready and we can get going." Katt left the room to allow Krystal to get dressed. It seemed a little funny to her though that the vixen would be so shy considering the two of them had walked around topless the day after she arrived. Oh well, everyone had their limits and Katt couldn't hold that against her. Besides not everyone had the stunted sense of shame that she did. Sitting back down in her easy chair Katt picked up her magazine to wait for Krystal.

A minute or two later the door to Katt's bedroom opened and Krystal stepped out. "How do I look?"

Katt looked up and smiled. Krystal stood there wearing a t-shirt that just managed to reach her jeans, and the jeans did a very good job of showing off the shapeliness, if not the fur, of her legs. "Stunning."

Krystal giggled. "Thank you. Though I'm not too sure about these jeans."

"Why?" Katt asked.

"Little too tight."

"Oh." Katt got up and walked over to her. "You should be thankful you aren't a boy then."

Krystal stared at her blankly for a moment before a smile crept across her muzzle. "Gods. How do they wear these then?"

"The greatest mystery of the universe. Come on, let's get you some clothes of your own."

The two girls left the apartment and made their way down to the building lobby. "Do you have a car Katt?" Krystal asked.

"Sure do. Electric-hover Civique. I only use it when I go outside of the city though. Why?"

"I was just wondering how we were going to get to wherever we're going."

Katt smiled. "Only someone new to Corneria City would ask that. In fact only someone not from Lylat would ask that. We'll be taking the tube."

The two girls exited the building and Katt turned right to walk down the street. It was midmorning and most people were at work, leaving the streets and sidewalks much less congested than normal. Of course that certainly didn't mean they were empty, just that it was possible to walk quickly without having to shove people out of the way.

"What's the tube?"

Katt glanced at Krystal beside her. "One of the best and most convenient city train systems every built. You can't live in Corneria City without using it. In fact because of it most people who live here don't even need a car, unless of course they plan to go outside of the city."

"So it's public transit?"

"Pretty much. Though it's really good public transit. You'll see." Katt answered as she led Krystal down a flight of steps and into a tunnel beneath the sidewalk.

The Corneria City Underground/Aboveground mass public transit system, locally known as "the tube", had been in service for roughly three centuries by the time that Katt had first used it. It was widely considered to be a marvel of civil engineering, and served as the basis for virtually every other subway system in Lylat. Of course in Katt's experience it was rare to find one as clean, well maintained, and safe as the one in Corneria City. There was no place in Corneria City that the tube couldn't get you, and best of all it was free.

"Wow." Krystal said.

"Yeah, thought you'd say that."

"I wouldn't have thought something you say is free would look this good. I mean the tiles on the walls are sparkling. I've never been in a city on a world other than my own that kept itself this neat." The blue vixen looked genuinely shocked at the level of cleanliness.

"That's what most people say. Well it's my tax credits at work. Worth it. Here hold my paw, it can be easy to get separated down here if you've never been before." Katt held out her pink furred paw and smiled when the vixen took it. She then led the way through the crowds of people who were all flashing their IDs at the card readers. When her turn came Katt held her ID up to the scanner. The laser field in front of Katt flashed open as she stepped through, and then closed just as Krystal followed her. The lasers went from green to red and a little alarm started blaring. A uniformed Alsatian started making his way over.

"Uh, Katt?"

Katt swore. "Figures. Hang on I'll handle this."

"Ma'am." The Alsatian said. "There a reason your friend is trying to get in without her ID?"

Putting on her friendliest smile Katt answered. "Sorry officer. My friend here isn't from Lylat, she doesn't have an ID. I can vouch for her though."

The dog looked the two of them over and Katt just thought _Oh please don't be a dickhead. _"All right, I can see she isn't from around here with that fur. Go ahead. But see about getting her some ID in the near future. City hall can offer her a visa I'm sure."

Katt smiled again and replied "Thanks officer. I appreciate you being so understanding."

The Alsatian tipped his hat in their direction. "No problem ma'am. Have a nice day."

Jerking her head in the direction of the boarding ramp Katt squeezed Krystal's paw. "It's all right you can stop blushing."

Krystal flicked her ears nervously a few times. "Sorry, it's just a little embarrassing having an alarm go off because of me."

"I know. Don't worry about it though, at least the officer over there isn't a dickhead."

"He was very understanding. Though..."

Katt nodded. "Yeah, being a pretty young lady with an exotic pelt never hurts with a guy. He didn't mind rape you did he?"

Krystal looked at the pink feline with a horrified expression. "No. I could just tell he was attracted. Katt do people around here do that?"

As they reached the boarding ramp Katt stuck her head out to check for the train. She trusted her reflexes to save her if it was coming. "Most guys no. But there are always the hormonal freaks who can't help it. You don't find them around this part of town very often though."

"I see." Krystal said, still looking a little perplexed at the idea. "I suppose when your thoughts are always private that sort of thing is easier to get away with."

"Yeah I think so. Here comes the train." Katt looked at Krystal and made sure to keep holding her paw. "Now when we get on board just shove your way in, they don't stop for very long and nice people or not it's always a fight to get on. Oh and if someone touches you improperly don't make a big deal, these things can be crowded and a little touchy feely is hard to avoid sometimes."

Krystal's eyes widened a bit at that. "O-K. That sounds lovely. From mind rapes to train molestation. Your world is beginning to worry me Katt."

Katt snorted. "Don't worry. It isn't rush hour so it probably won't be that bad. Besides you got me, anyone does anything you don't like I'll scratch their faces off."

The train came to a stop on its mag-rails with a soft humming and the doors opened. Immediately the people on the ramp began shoving forward into the people trying to exit. Katt made sure to keep a hold of Krystal as she elbowed a passing business exec out of the way to claim a spot inside the train. Krystal for her part managed to get onboard without physically assaulting anyone, a serious accomplishment in Katt's opinion. "Where do we sit?" The vixen asked.

Katt shrugged. "Seats seem to all be taken. So we stand."

"How fast does it...Woah!" The train chose that moment to accelerate, sweeping Krystal off of her unprepared feet.

Acting quickly Katt used her grip on the vixen's paw to keep her from falling by pulling her into a rather close embrace. "Fast."

Krystal was blushing again and Katt made sure to give a withering stare to everyone in the car that made it clear remarks and jokes about a clumsy vixen were not welcome with her. "No inertial dampeners I take it."

"Nope. It was on the ballot last year but it would have meant bringing back fees. Apparently no one wanted to part with fifteen cents for smooth acceleration. You all right?" Katt asked, looking at the vixen with concern. She could only imagine how embarrassed her friend was. In fact Katt wouldn't blame her if she never wanted to use the tube again.

"I'm fine. You can stop holding me if you want."

This time Katt blushed. "Oh, sorry."

"It's all right." Krystal answered, looking slightly amused. "I take it that's what the poles are for?"

"Yes." Katt made room for Krystal to place a paw on one of the support poles. "We're off in three stops for the commercial district."

"I can't wait. Are there lots of shops?"

"Shops, department stores, malls, boutiques, everything a girl could want in a couple of city blocks." Katt answered.

As the train approached its third stop Katt said "This is about to be us. Hold on to my paw and get ready to shove your way back out."

Krystal grabbed onto Katt's outstretched paw and seemed to steel herself for the inevitable crush of people. The tinny voice of the automated pilot announced the stop as the commercial district and the doors opened. Katt charged forward with Krystal, elbows clearing the way. Katt had to restrain herself from cursing when a rather heavy set lioness with a brood of cubs tried to board with two fists full of shopping bags. _I really hope I don't step on one. But I will if I have to._ Katt thought to herself.

Fortunately the two girls managed to make their way through the rushing mob and out onto the boarding ramp without squashing any tiny felid offspring. Both of them then made their way out of the terminal as quickly as possible. If there was one thing that Katt hated about the commercial district terminal it would have to be the fact that no matter what there always seemed to be a huge number of people going opposite the way she wanted to go. Not to mention they always seemed to be swinging their bags in her general direction. It made Katt wonder if some of them might actually be trying to hit a pink feline that day. Once they made it out Katt breathed a sigh of relief.

Krystal looked at her curiously. "I thought you liked the tube."

"Oh I do don't get me wrong. But this stop is always a pain. Too many people with big ass shopping bags that always feel like they're filled with bricks when they hit you."

Krystal glanced back down the stairway before turning back to her friend. "Or just big assed lionesses with too many cubs."

Katt chuckled at Krystal's snark. She must have been feeling a bit more comfortable around her after the past few days."Can't argue with that. Now come on, why don't we do some shopping? Hell maybe I'll get us a cab for the ride home instead of us being the bitches with too many bags."

"If a cab is a car that would be great."

"Sure is Krystal. Now, where would you like to go first?"

Katt watched as the enormity of the various department stores and other shopping centers dawned on her friend for the first time. The vixen's muzzle seemed to unhinge a bit at the sight of buildings almost the size of skyscrapers draped with holographic advertisements for every kind of item imaginable. Clothes, jewelry, scents, flowers, appliances, even vehicles. "Ummmm..."

"Tell you what, I know a good place for clothes. Want to just stick with me?" Katt asked.

"That sounds like a very good idea."

Smiling Katt began to lead the way down the street towards one of her favorite little stores. The commercial district, for all the hassle involved in getting there, had always been one of Katt's favorite places to go on her days off. Katt would certainly consider herself an expert shopper, in fact she couldn't remember the last time she had actually been ripped off on something. _Which probably means I'm not as good as I think. Oh well, have money, spend money, stimulate the economy, right?_ She thought to herself. Besides, she figured when Fox found out that she had taken Krystal on a shopping spree in the city he would insist on paying her back. If there was one thing Katt knew about Fox it was that he hated the idea of owing anyone anything, and seeing as he probably thought of Krystal as his responsibility Katt felt comfortable in assuming that a fat Star Fox rebate would be heading her way after all of this.

After crossing the street the two arrived at a shop with a neon sign that read _Clothing Shack_. "You are going to love this store Krystal."

Krystal glanced up at the sign. "Clothing Shack? Doesn't exactly sound high end."

"That's the point. I know the owner, she's a bit anti-establishment. Last thing she would want to sound like is some big faceless corporation. Or some snooty rich peoples department store. Believe me though when I say you can find literally anything in here." Katt explained.

"If you say so." Krystal replied.

Opening the door Katt called out "Amber! Best customer alert!"

Katt's shout was greeted by rustling from a back storeroom, and moment later a female red panda with more piercings than anyone else Katt knew came rushing out to meet her. "Monroe!"

"Amber." Katt said as the two girls enveloped each other in a hug. Katt planted a little kiss on the other girls cheek and said "I'm actually here to shop today."

Amber's eyes brightened at that. "Awesome." Her eyes drifted to Krystal. "New girlfriend?"

Katt's eyes widened and she saw Krystal blush. Leave it to Amber to jump to that conclusion. "Oh no. I'm uh just looking after her for Fox."

Separating from Katt amber apologized. "Sorry. I shouldn't assume. Looking for anything in particular? I got some new pink outfits in a couple days ago."

Katt thought about that for a moment. She had left the house with the intention of getting clothes only for Krystal, she really couldn't afford to be buying clothes for the both of them. Of course Fox would more than likely want to pay her back for anything she spent on Krystal. _No Katt, don't exploit the fact that Fox obviously has the hots for this girl._ "We're just here for Krystal."

"I take it that's you?" Amber asked, directing the question at the blue vixen standing next to Katt.

Smiling Krystal answered. "Yes that's me. Pleasure to meet you miss Amber."

Amber laughed. "No miss. Just Amber. And nice to meet you too. I like your pelt. Do you dye it?"

Krystal shook her head. "No, this is my natural pelt color."

Amber's face suddenly became a study in confusion. She looked over at Katt who simply smirked. "Really?"

"Mmhmm." Krystal smiled a bit. "I'm not from around here."

"Like I said I'm taking care of her for Fox. They met on Dinosaur Planet and she needed a place to stay for awhile while he and his team get things sorted." Katt cut in. Hopefully that would be enough for Amber. The red panda could be a little nosey at times.

"Oh. I didn't know there were foxes on Dinosaur Planet."

Krystal frowned. "There aren't. I'm not from Lylat."

Amber was about to press Krystal but Katt interrupted. Something about the look on Krystal's face told her that unlike a few days ago she didn't want to talk about her homeworld right now. "Look Amber, I know you're a very curious person but...sensitive issue?"

"Sorry." Amber looked apologetic. "I'll lay off. Now why don't you two have a look around. And just give a shout if you need me, I'll be in back unpacking a few new outfits."

"Thanks Amber." When the red panda was out of ear shot Katt glanced over at Krystal. "You all right?"

"I'm fine. I know I've talked about my planet with you before but...well that just sounded like I'd have to explain what happened to it, and that's not something I like to share. I don't mind telling what it was like before but telling what it is now...well it's a lot more painful."

Katt patted Krystal on the shoulder. "It's all right. I could tell it looked sensitive, that's why I said something. But if you ever want to talk about what happened, I assume it's bad, I've got ears and I can be as tight lipped as you want."

"Thanks Katt." Krystal said. "Eventually."

Nodding Katt led Krystal over to a rack full of dresses. "Well for now why don't we find you some proper Cornerian clothes. And no jeans right?"

Krystal smiled. "Well maybe I'll try some, since they do seem pretty common. But dresses are always better."

"Atta girl. Try some new things. This is the place for that by the way, Amber has everything."

"I can tell." Krystal said as she held a dress up to her body. "What do you think?"

Katt looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. "Little low cut don't you think?"

Smirking Krystal replied. "Did you see what my people used to wear? Modesty in dress isn't that big an issue for me."

"Good point." Katt laughed. "Just try not to give Fox a heart attack the next time he sees you."

"He really is silly around girls isn't he?" Krystal asked putting the dress back.

"Long as I've known him. There are some stories me and the other girls could tell you." Katt said as she pulled another dress from the rack and handed it to Krystal. Katt thought the teal color might go well with Krystal's blue fur.

"Other girls?" Krystal inquired as she took the dress from Katt.

"Miyu, Fay, and especially Fara. He's friends with all of them. Trust me when I say each one of them can name at least one occasion they made him trip over his own tongue, or tail." Katt told Krystal, remembering one of Fox's more embarrassing moments in high school.

"I'd like to meet them." Krystal handed back the dress.

"No on teal?" Krystal nodded. "All right to hell with teal. And I'm sure they'd love to meet you. Want me to set up a girls date?" Katt asked.

"That would be wonderful. I'd love to start making some more friends. Oh I like this!" Krystal exclaimed, pulling a dark purple dress from the rack.

"It's settled then. We'll get you kitted out with proper clothes and then I'll invite the girls over to meet you and we can all tell you exactly how adorable Fox has been all his life."

"Brilliant." Krystal replied, a smile on her muzzle. "Now focus, we need to figure out exactly what goes with my fur and my tattoos. What do you think of purple?"

"Gotcha. Down to business." Katt answered as she looked at the dress. She had a feeling that her own experience shopping for clothes to match unusual pelt colorings was about to come in very handy.


	4. Chapter 4 Girls, Hugs, and Stories

A/N: **REVISION!** OK now that I've yelled to get your attention I'll just say that I have made some revisions and additions to this chapter. The reviews I got pointed out some rather glaring issues, but they were issues that were easy to fix and that I, admittedly, had a lot of fun fixing. For the most part people asked for my scandalous stories and the like, well I have done my best to give them to you. On the subject of Krystal's recounting of Adventures it has been left mostly intact, a few changes are there, and this is because I wanted to have her get her telepathy out in the open and that story did a reasonably good job of it. And, before I let you all actually go and read it if anyone has complaints about Fara speaking French all I have to say is, they speak English so they can speak French. Now go ahead and read on and of course you can always review if you're feeling especially courteous today.

-general whitefur

* * *

Chapter Four

Girls, Hugs, and Stories

"What do you think Katt?" Krystal asked as she spun around in one of the dresses from last week's shopping trip. The dress was a little blue number that hung loose around the legs to give it a nice swirl effect. Krystal hoped the dress's relative modesty would prove a good choice for the day.

"I like it. The swirl is cute, and the no sleeves let's you show off those tats." Katt answered from where she sat lounging on Krystal's bed. Katt herself wore only a t-shirt and a very short skirt she called a 'mini-skirt'. Krystal had yet to try one on, but she liked the way Katt looked in them. "I'm sure the girls will love you in it. Though I think they'd love you in anything."

Krystal cast a smile the feline's way, Katt always proved so reassuring whenever they talked. Though Krystal knew that of late her friend had been a little disappointed that she no longer walked around in revealing tribal wear. "Maybe. But I will admit I'd rather not everyone greet me with a gaping muzzle."

"Price you pay for looking so mouth watering."

Krystal turned from the closet mirror to look at the pink feline. "What?"

"What?" Katt parroted, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Nothing. I've just never had another girl describe me like that after only two weeks living together. You really think so?"

Katt, though Krystal noted a bit of color had come to her ears, just kept right on. "Oh Krystal, you know I'd love to eat you right up."

Krystal smiled and shook her head, even though the feline meant it as a joke there had been no hiding the fact that Katt found her very attractive. "I'm sure you would." Krystal replied with amusement.

Katt simply returned the smile and let her tail swish back and forth.

Satisfied with what she was wearing Krystal shut the closet door and went to sit next to Katt on the bed. "When will the girls be getting here?"

"They said by one. Fara and Miyu should be first, Fay will be twenty minutes late on purpose like she always is and claim she has a brain like a goldfish for this sort of thing, despite her very active social life."

"Why is it that she's always twenty minutes late?" Krystal asked. She had never heard of someone being late by the same amount of time to every engagement, and never on purpose.

"Because," Katt explained, "That way by the time she's arrived the party has already started. That and some people consider it fashionable to be late. Though the goldfish excuse is just a Fay thing."

"I see." Krystal answered. Even after two weeks living in a city filled with them the ways of the Cornerians continued to surprise her. Not so much because any of the things they did seemed outrageously alien, but more because they were a maddeningly hard people to define. There seemed to be no consistent definition for them except that they all seemed to behave differently. Not to mention Krystal couldn't use her telepathy to gain herself more than a strong surface impression. It felt strange getting to know people without knowing not just what they thought but how they thought and what made them think they way that they did. Even if it did serve to make it a bit more interesting it also made it a thousand times more difficult than Krystal had ever imagined it could be to get to know someone.

"Krystal?"

"What?"

Katt shrugged. "Nothing. You seemed a little spaced out there for a second. Only a second though."

"Sorry. I was just thinking how strange it is the way I have to get to know people now, and how difficult it can be."

"Getting to know people is never easy. Especially if you feel a little shy." Katt stated.

"It's not that." Krystal replied.

"What then?" Katt asked, her eyebrows set in a curious expression.

"It's all of this privacy you Cornerians have built up." Krystal made a sweeping gesture with her arms as she continued, "I mean everything around here seems designed to make sure no one can see you, no one can hear you, it's a wonder that any of you know anyone at all. You seem utterly determined to keep people out of every aspect of life that you can."

Cocking her head a bit Katt asked, "It was different on Cerinia?"

"Very different." Krystal answered with a nod. "We all lived communally. Most everyone knew each other and if anyone new appeared you'd never have been able to keep people from feeling them out telepathically. The equivalent here would be people asking loads of questions. Not to mention the lengths you all go to hide your bodies. It astounds me that any of you can claim to be comfortable with all of the clothes you have on."

Smiling Katt replied, "You'll get no argument from me. Lots of people are still uptight about all sorts of things, especially people's bodies. Though in our defense we're a lot less judgmental than we used to be."

"There is that I suppose. Still..."

"I know. Bunch of prudes making you wear more than a bra and loin cloth. Personally though so long as you're inside the apartment I don't care if you walk around nude."

Krystal smirked at the other girl. "Don't tempt me. You know what I really didn't understand though about our shopping trip?"

"What?"

"Pajamas. Why would you wear that much clothing to sleep in? A loin cloth or undergarment maybe but...Gods they had whole sets of things. It mystifies me."

Katt's eyes widened a bit. "What do you sleep in?"

"Nothing of course. Cerinians always sleep in a natural state. We believe that it makes it easier for the gods and spirits to commune with us if we are in the natural state that they gave us. That and it rarely got very cold on Cerinia."

"Amazing."

Krystal wagged her tail. "Thank you."

A buzz sounded from the living room. "Must be one of the girls buzzing to come up. Come on, we shouldn't keep them waiting." Katt said as she hopped off the bed.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Krystal said following her.

Krystal had helped Katt clean up the apartment the day before in preparation for the little get together. The vacuum proved the latest in a list of things that had shocked her, though she had begun to have fun with it as soon as the noise had become bearable. Katt had explained to her that it was very good at sucking things out of carpet and that a broom simply wouldn't work. Of course carpet had also made it onto the shocking list, it seemed woefully impractical for any species that had a tendency to shed.

Katt made her way over to the intercom and pressed the talk button. "Who is it?"

From her position on the couch Krystal listened for the response. A second later a slightly husky sounding female voice said, "It's Fara. Can I come up?"

"Yep. I'll open the door."

After opening the door Katt came over to sit next to Krystal on the couch. "Fara is the fennec vixen right?"

"Yeah. And uh...she and Fox used to be an item so..."

Krystal cocked her head. "I'm not with Fox though. Are they still together?"

Katt shook her head. "Nah, it ended ages ago. I just thought I would let you know since I know you seem interested in Fox."

"Well he did save my life. Don't worry, I've never fought over a man in my life and I don't intend to start now." Krystal laid a paw on Katt's knee. "Trust me, I'm not a jealous vixen."

"Good because neither am I."

Both Krystal and Katt turned towards the door. Katt grinned and hopped up. "Phoenix!"

Observing the other vixen from the couch Krystal noted that she had a beige fur color, something she had never seen on her world, and very large ears. She was also wearing a little white dress with a big bronze belt buckle across the waist. As soon as Katt was through hugging the fennec Krystal stood up and smiled nicely. "Hello."

"Hey, I take it you're Krystal?" Fara walked over and looked the other vixen up and down.

"Yes. And you're Fara Phoenix I presume." Krystal gave the fennec her own up and down look in return. She didn't have to be a telepath to see Fara running a mental assessment of her. Krystal did the same.

"That would be right. Hug?" Fara smiled as she said it and Krystal couldn't have refused if she had wanted to. The offer of an embrace only confirmed Krystal's assessment, the fennec wanted nothing more than to be friends.

"Definitely." Krystal wrapped her arms around the beige furred vixen and took a moment to breathe in her scent. Not musky like she had expected, though it certainly smelled very rich and natural. Before they could separate she felt Fara plant a little peck on each cheek, much to her surprise. Finally breaking off the hug Krystal said "Even Fox hasn't tried to kiss me yet. You move fast."

Fara blushed a bit at the reaction. "I take it you don't know the custom? It's called fair la bise. It's just a greeting that some of us do."

Krystal smiled reassuringly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't tease like that. I think I've been around Katt too long."

Smirking Katt answered, "Yeah, you notice she didn't give me any fair la bise."

Fara looked over at where the pink feline had perched herself on the couch arm. "You always try to kiss me back on the lips. If you're going to do it back it still has to be on the cheeks."

"Now where's the fun in that?"

Fara looked back at Krystal. "I don't know how you live with her."

Smiling Krystal sat back down. "Katt has been nothing but wonderful."

Fara took the seat on the couch between both Katt and Krystal. "I suppose I can believe that. Miyu should be here any minute Katt, she called me on the way over."

Katt nodded. "All right. How have you been though Fara?"

"Oh can't complain. Daddy still has me running test flights and doing mechanical work. I enjoy it. Pays well too." Fara frowned at Katt when the other girl snorted. "What?"

"Pays well she says. Krystal that's code for billionaire father will get her anything she wants so long as she asks nicely."

Krystal looked between the two women for a moment. She could sense the vaguest of underlying tensions filling the conversation. It didn't seem enough that any sort of confrontation appeared imminent, but enough that there definitely had to be something of an issue concerning the subject between the two. "So I take it your family is wealthy then Fara?"

Fara nodded. "One way of putting it. My father owns Space Dynamics, most valuable company in the system. Mother owns a few plasma mining facilities as well. We get by."

"Jeez." Katt rolled her eyes. "She never wants to admit that her family is the richest family this side of the galactic arm. Her father could buy her the moon if he wanted to, and I do not exaggerate."

Krystal laughed. "I see. Why is it that you don't like to admit it Fara?"

A sigh escaped the fennec's mouth. "Because Katt, Miyu, and Falco especially came up from nothing. I got born into more wealth than most people can dream of, I don't want to rub it in."

"You do a bad job of it girl." Katt stated, though she was looking not unkindly at her friend.

"I hope being born into wealth isn't a serious issue around here." Krystal could sense how Fara felt, and she knew to a certain degree what it was like to be born into wealth. Perhaps not the guilty aspect of it, but at the very least she had wealthy parents in common with Fara.

"What do you mean?" Fara asked, her ears swiveling towards the blue vixen.

"My family was wealthy as well. My mother was a high priestess and my father was a merchant and jewel crafter, ten generations of family experience as well. We were always very well off."

Katt laid back on the top of the couch cushions to better see Krystal. Krystal had been wondering why so much fur collected on the tops of the cushions. "Big house then? Tons of land, swimming pools, that kinda thing?"

"No. We lived in a nice village though, our income helped support a lot of the farmers in the area." Krystal said.

"Oh," said Fara "Then you had tenant farmers working for you?"

Krystal felt herself growing confused. Why would farmers work for a priestess and a merchant jeweler? "Um no. We shared our income with them during hard times or whenever they needed something that they couldn't afford."

"And took a share of whatever crop they had right?" Katt asked.

"What? Why would we do that? They're the ones growing it. If we wanted their crops we paid for them like anyone else. Do people do that here?" Now Krystal definitely felt confused.

Fara and Katt looked at each other for a moment and Krystal realized that they were as confused as she was. "So let me get this straight." Fara said, "You gave them money during hard times, helped them afford things beyond their own incomes if they needed it, but they weren't working for you in any capacity, and you were expected to buy any crops from them that you wanted?"

"Yes." Krystal said. "We all lived communally, but everyone relied on the farmers for food, so those of us who didn't farm were expected to help in other ways. If there was a bad harvest we always made sure that everyone would have enough to money to buy food from elsewhere. It was everyone really, though my family often had the most income so we contributed a good deal of it."

The intercom buzzed and Katt walked over to answer it. Fara shook her head. "Strange, did the farmers do anything for your family but take your money?"

Krystal frowned. "Of course, they made sure we were fed. And if we had fallen on hard times someone would have made sure to pay so that we didn't starve. Or if we needed help with our business or anything else they were always there to lend a hand. Does it not work that way here?"

Fara shrugged. "Not as much as it should I suppose. It just sounds like your people always believed in sharing wealth."

"Exactly!" Krystal smiled. Now Fara seemed to be getting it.

"Miyu is on her way up. And Krystal, your people sound more and more wonderful all the time. Did you pay for people's education to?"

Krystal's eyes widened. "Pay to learn? Your people make you pay for knowledge?" Now there was something to add to the list of shockingly strange about this world.

Katt nodded as she stretched out on top of the couch cushions again. "Oh yeah. Ask Miyu she'll tell you all about it."

"All about what?"

Krystal looked over at the doorway to see an orange and black furred feline standing there. Her attire appeared different from any of the other girls, a pair of torn jeans with black stripes on them and a sleeveless shirt. _Tank top, Katt said that's a tank top. I like it. _

"About paying for education. Hey Miyu." Katt rolled off the couch cushions and onto her feet in one seemingly perfect motion.

Miyu walked into the apartment, rubbed noses with Katt, hugged Fara, and then smiled at Krystal. "So you must be the vixen McCloud rescued on Dinosaur Planet. I'm Miyu Lynx, pleased to meet you."

Krystal stood and embraced the lynx. "Lovely to meet you too Miyu. Now what's this about paying for a chance to learn things?"

Miyu grinned at her. "It's called med school. Or for most people just higher education. It took me three mercenary checks to be able to afford it all back in the day, plus my housing. Did you not go to college?"

Krystal shrugged. "We didn't call it that. But I had the best education that could be had. Though we didn't pay for it. Knowledge of any sort was a birth right to my people. You Cornerians do some strange things."

Miyu's grin widened. "We do indeed." Sitting down on the easy chair Miyu looked around the room. "Still all pink around here Katt?"

"Never planned on changing it. What time is it?"

Fara pulled out her perso-com. "Fifteen minutes past one. Fay should be here in five."

"_Purr_fect. I'll get us some drinks. What do you guys want?" Katt moved towards the kitchen.

"Something sweet." Fara said.

Krystal thought for a moment before answering, "Just water."

"Iced tea if you have it." Miyu called towards the kitchen. The lynx looked back at Krystal. "Nice dress by the way."

Krystal smiled, glowing at the compliment. "Thanks. We went shopping at the _Clothing Shack_ awhile ago, I needed some new clothes."

"What were you wearing before?" Fara inquired.

Returning with the drinks Katt whistled. "Oh you shoulda seen her. Brass bra, a bit constricting she later revealed, and a white linen loin cloth with gold embroidery. She looked drop dead tribal gorgeous."

"I think you were disappointed when she said she wanted new clothes weren't you Monroe?" Miyu said, a twinkle in her eye.

Smirking a bit Krystal replied, "I was surprised she didn't mope around the flat for the next week."

Blushing Katt just shook her head. "As you can see girls, self-esteem and confidence are two things Krystal does not lack."

Raising her glass of sweet tea Fara wagged her tail a bit. "Well then here's to Krystal, confident, and very blue vixen."

Krystal and the other girls raised their glasses in response, Katt while going to answer the intercom for a third time. As soon as they had finished drinking to the toast a very soprano voice asked, "I'm not late am I?"

"Fay!" Miyu jumped out of her seat and stalked over to the doorway. Krystal watched in fascination as the two girls regarded each other. "Twenty minutes late, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Fay wore a red dress that appeared longer on one side than the other, but it was hardly her most distinctive attribute. A top her head sat one of the biggest, and cutest, red bows Krystal had ever seen. "I'm sorry Miyu, you know me, memory of a goldfish for this sort of thing."

Miyu tipped her head forward at the spaniel, looking at her incredulously. "If only that were true. Come here."

Krystal smiled as the two embraced each other in what appeared to be a very affectionate hug. Much more affectionate than she had seen or received from anyone in a very long time, possibly ever. Krystal wondered for a moment if the two had been lovers at some point.

"They go so well together don't they?" Fara said to no one in particular.

"Yeah." Katt said. "Come on you two! Even I don't hug for that long unless me and the other girl have our clothes off."

Fay broke off the hug and walked over towards the couch. "I thought you liked boys too Katt."

"True." Katt replied to the spaniel. "But you're not here to try and get another juicy story out of me."

Krystal looked up at the spaniel, which didn't mean she had to look far, the little dog couldn't have been more than five feet tall. Even Fara had at least four inches on the spaniel. "I'm Krystal."

"I'm Fay." And without further ado the white furred dog launched herself onto Krystal, smothering her in a somewhat over affectionate hug the likes of which Krystal was now certain she had never received.

Krystal wrapped her arms around the other girl and returned the hug as everyone else just laughed. When Fay released her and slid into the spot next to Krystal on the couch Katt said, "I probably should have warned you that Fay gives very big hugs. They're almost cuddles."

That seemed quite an understatement to Krystal. She felt her tail wag though and she couldn't help grinning at Fay. "Good thing I don't mind. Nice to meet you Fay."

"Same. So why are we here? And why don't I have a drink Katt?"

Getting up and heading back to the kitchen Katt called back, "To answer your question, Krystal wanted to meet all of you and make some new friends. That and she'd like to hear some embarrassing stories about Fox."

Fara snorted. "Oh my. How long do we have? I need at least an hour just to choose one."

"Are there really that many?" Krystal found herself wondering just how socially awkward Fox really was. He certainly seemed shy, but then a lot of men were shy.

Fay giggled. "Oh not really. Well maybe to Fara since they dated in high school. Fox just has a tendency to become a blushing mess around girls, especially if we do or say anything remotely sexual. He also has a bad time with romance, even though I always thought he was very romantic."

Miyu rolled her eyes as she flopped herself back down into the easy chair. "Fay you would call a rock romantic if it paid attention to you."

"Well maybe that's why I have so many friends." The little dog stuck her tongue out at the lynx. Krystal tried not to laugh, she looked simply adorable.

"Aw friend." Miyu did a double thumbs up as she said the words in a falsetto voice.

"Oh shut up." Fay crossed her arms. "Some of us really are just social butterflies. But we aren't here to have that argument, today is about Krystal."

"Indeed it is." Katt set a drink down in front of Fay.

Picking up the glass the dog lapped at it and then looked at the pink feline. "What is this?"

"The least sugary and totally uncaffeinated thing I have in my kitchen, because the last thing we need is for you to get hyperactive." Katt retook her seat on the couch arm before laying back down on the cushions. She made a playful bat at Fara's ears, earning her a growl from the fennec.

"Then it'll have to be less than a teaspoon of sugar in there since that's all it takes for her." Miyu said.

Fay simply stuck out her tongue at Miyu again, made a playfully dramatic pout, and then shrugged and went back to her drink.

"So, who wants to go first with Foxie stories?" Fara asked.

"I think you should Fara, you were his first girlfriend after all." Katt opined.

"Fine, let me think."

Krystal watched as the other vixen took a moment to collect her thoughts. Krystal certainly felt herself getting excited at the prospect of hearing about Fox. She hadn't had much more than a few phone calls the past two weeks, though Fox had promised to come back and visit soon.

"How about the first time story Fara?" Miyu asked. "That one is probably the best."

Fara frowned. "It's as embarrassing for me as it is for Fox."

"Yeah but then Krystal gets to know you and Fox all at the same time." Krystal noticed that Miyu seemed very eager to hear the story, it must be a good one.

Fara gave a sigh and then agreed. "Fine. So way back when in senior year of high school Fox and I had been going steady for about a year. We liked each other, held paws, kissed every now and again, went to parties together, all the normal stuff. Then came my birthday."

"This is the good part." Miyu interrupted.

Fara cast a rather pointed look at the lynx before continuing. "Well Krystal, as I'm sure you and every girl here knows Fox is a very, very attractive man. He's buff, at least for a vulpine, and he's a nice guy and all of that. And I really, really liked him back then."

"She used to kiss his yearbook picture goodnight." Miyu interrupted again, a wicked smile on her face. "I'm not sure whether it was cute or just stalkerish."

Fara blushed and her ears folded down. "You just had to bring that up didn't you?"

"Yep." Miyu adopted a very self-satisfied look.

Krystal made sure to restrain her smile. She liked how these girls always seemed to be sniping at each other, it reminded her of how she and most of her friends had been, truly wicked and merciless, if all in good fun. "Are you always like this Miyu?" Krystal looked curiously at the orange and black furred feline.

"Pretty much. She's more a bitch than me." Fay answered for the lynx.

"That's saying something too coming from an _actual_ bitch." Miyu's expression went from satisfied to wickedly joyous all at once.

Fay growled but her tail wagged against the couch.

"Hey, can we get back to the story? I love it when Phoenix tells this one." Katt said from where she lay atop the couch, clearly trying to restrain herself from reaching up and playing with Fara's ears.

"Yes lets." Krystal agreed.

Fara took a breath and then continued. "Anyways as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," she sent another pointed look in Miyu's direction, "Fox is a very attractive man. And he was very cute when he was a teenager, Krystal you would die to see him back then. That being said I wanted something rather...special for my eighteenth birthday."

"What was it you wanted?" Krystal had a feeling she knew what Fara was referring to, but she wanted to hear it all the same.

"I wanted to have sex with him." Fara's ears flattened again as she blushed. "Like I said I really, really liked him back then and I wanted him to be my first. So after the party started to wind down I took him up to my room, took off my clothes and flat out told him to have sex with me."

"I see." Krystal smiled a bit. "Was he any good?" All eyes suddenly whipped around to look at the blue vixen. "What? It's a legitimate question isn't it?"

Fara shrugged. "I never really got to find out that night."

Krystal looked at her questioningly. "This is the good part." Miyu said, hiding a smile.

"The good part if you weren't involved." Fara said with irritation . "You see just as we were getting into it, I mean really getting into it, well...the door opened and boom! There's mom."

Krystal sucked in a shocked breath. She could imagine how embarrassing that must have been for Fara, and for Fox, and for Fara's mother. "Gods. Did she not take it well?"

Grimacing Fara responded, "If anything she took it a little too well. She just rolled her eyes and told me not to ruin the sheets. Fucking vixens. After that Fox was too embarrassed to touch me again. I decided to just mercy kill the relationship for him, and it was more than a month before he could bring himself to even hug me in front of people. He would just kind of stand there awkwardly. Not that I was any better."

Putting a paw on Fara's shoulder Krystal said in sympathy, "I can imagine how embarrassing that must have been. Though your mother's reaction sounds just like what mine would have done."

Miyu shook her head. "I guess vixens are the same no matter what planet they're from."

"Thanks Krystal. That's probably the best reaction to that story I've ever gotten. Better than anything I got from these three when it happened." Patting Krystal's paw with her own she gave the other vixen a thankful smile.

"Hey! We were nothing if not comforting and understanding at the time." Katt responded, looking slightly indignant.

"Laughing hysterically and asking if my mother made a habit of walking in on me in those situations is not what I call comforting and understanding." Fara looked pointedly at the pink feline.

"Oh shut up, I was young and very interested in that sort of thing." Katt replied batting at the fennec's ears again.

This time in addition to a growl Fara smacked the paws away. "No kidding. You were the high school sex symbol, even if you never let anyone but Falco get a nibble."

Katt winked at her. "That was the secret dear. Dangle yourself, it's more effective than just throwing yourself at them."

"No cat fights over seduction techniques girls." Fay interrupted. "I think it's more information than Krystal would want to know on first meeting you."

Chuckling Krystal swished her tail. "Oh don't worry, the vixen inside me would love to hear more, but Fay is right, maybe later."

"Can we ask Krystal a question?" Fay asked then.

"That's up to her." Katt replied, looking longingly at Fara's ears.

"Sure. What do you want to know?" Krystal asked the spaniel.

"Well I was wondering what the story is behind Fox rescuing you. The tabloids haven't even printed a fictional account yet."

"I guess I could hit the high lights. If you girls really want to hear it?" Krystal asked, though she knew that every girl in the room felt quite eager to hear the story. Four heads nodded with enthusiasm. "All right then. I was on Dinosaur Planet responding to a distress call..." Krystal outlined how she had been traveling through space when she had picked up the signal, and how when she had responded she had nearly been killed by General Scales and been subsequently trapped inside a diamond on top of the Krazoa Palace.

"Then Fox came along. I sensed him when he entered the Palace, and soon enough he came right up to where I was trapped. He stood there gawking for a little while..."

"Gawking?" Fara asked, amusement in her voice. "What did he look like?"

Krystal shrugged. "I can't really say, I kept fading in and out of consciousness while I was imprisoned. Though I could sense a certain degree of...interest from him."

That got a collective giggle from all the girls. The Miyu asked, "What do you mean sense though?"

"I'm a telepath." Krystal answered matter-of-factly. The girls responded with slightly confused stares. "Oh, I suppose Katt didn't tell you that bit."

"Yeah sorry, she can read minds guys." Katt explained. "She read mine when she first got here. It's pretty awesome."

Krystal could feel a certain trepidation coming from the girls now, she couldn't blame them. "Please don't worry. I know that here on this world thoughts are considered private, I would never read a person's mind without permission. Never."

"Seriously guys, she means that." Katt said. Krystal couldn't begin to describe how much she appreciated the pink cat's back up.

The mood in the room returned to normal when Miyu said, "I'd love to get your brain under a scanner at Corneria Medical. I've never encountered telepathy before."  
Fay smiled. "Paging evil doctor Miyu."

"Maybe one day." Krystal replied. "But shall we get back to the story?"

"Definitely." Fara answered.

Krystal then explained the process by which Fox had released each Krazoa Spirit one after another until eventually the diamond around her had quite suddenly evaporated, illustrating the suddenness with a snap of her fingers . "I nearly ended up falling to my death, but Fox managed to catch me with my own staff weapon. He pulled me up, our eyes met and...well a few days later I ended up here on Corneria." Krystal finished.

The room remained silent for a few moments before Fay whistled. "Wow. Right out of a storybook."

"I was going to say fairytale." Miyu added.

"Damn." Fara shook her head. "At the very least it's romantic. And you said Fox hasn't kissed you yet?"

"Well...not exactly. He himself hasn't tried to. Though when I came on board I said the condition of me coming back with him was that he had to give me a kiss." Krystal amended. "He blushed more than I've ever seen someone blush before, but he managed it. Does he blush every time a girl asks something like that?"

Fara laughed. "Oh you should have seen him when I told him to have sex with me. He darn near caught on fire, though his sheath overrode his embarrassment pretty quickly."

"Poor Fox." Krystal said, "Ah well, at least he's cute when he blushes."

"There is that." Fara agreed.

"So," said Katt, "Anyone got some more Fox stories?"

"Oh I have one!" Fay called out, bouncing slightly on the couch. "Can I tell mine?"

"Yes Fay." Katt responded with a roll of the eyes. "Considering you look about to burst with bubbles."

"Awesome! So does anyone remember the victory parties after Andross's defeat?" Fay asked the room.

Miyu groaned. "I believe my head and my liver do yes."

"I distinctly remember having several long nights with Falco and one or two bottles of vodka." Katt answered, purring a bit at the memory. "I enjoyed them."

"I remember Fox forgetting to call me for the first three days." Fara responded with a bitter but mocking tone.

"I take it they were rather wild parties?" Krystal asked.

"Oh yeah." Fay explained, "I don't think I've ever been to parties that were crazier. Can't blame people, we all thought we were going to die or live under the rule of a deranged evil scientist. People were relieved. So for a week or two after the formal announcement people kind of just let loose and went a little crazy. Except Fox."

"What did Fox do?" Krystal inquired, cocking her head to the side.

Fay let out a dramatic sigh. "He had originally planned on doing nothing, he told me as much when I called him. Well being his good friend and the consummate socialite of the group I could not in good conscience allow him to just sit in his apartment and mope when there were good times to be had."

"By good times she basically means sex, boos, and rock and roll." Miyu interrupted. "Not that I don't agree they can be good times. Though the head and liver sometimes disagree."

"To hell with the liver and the brain then." Fay replied, tossing her hair and a mischievous look at her orange and black furred friend. "Sometimes you just got to let yourself have some wicked bad fun. Of course Fox just always tries to be the responsible leader and so while the rest of the team was enjoying themselves a bit, hell even Peppy went out drinking with general Pepper, Fox decided to just sit at home doing...well nothing."

"I hope you made sure to change that." Krystal definitely felt herself getting interested. Fox had to have some scandal in his life, even a hero had blights on his record, it made them interesting when you got to know them.

"Oh yes, I made sure to change that." Fay answered, grinning happily, tail wagging.

"Yeah, I saw it in the tabloids a week later." Katt added, licking absently at her paws.

"Hee hee. I really did a good job didn't I?" Fay snickered.

"Depends how you look at it." Katt riposted. "Though I agree. Now get on with it, Krystal looks like she's dying to know."

Fay gleefully launched back into the story. "As soon as I heard his plan, I hadn't even hung up yet, I made my way down to my car and drove right over to his apartment. I was still on the com when I got to his building's parking garage and asked if I could come over. The moment he opened the door I put my foot down and told him to wear something that made him look handsome because we were going to the first party I could find to dance, eat, laugh, and get drunk. I mean he deserved it after all of that I think, it would have been cruel to let him just sit and stew.

"So that night we ended up at my friend Kita's house, she's a very short corgi, like shorter than me. Throws a mean party though, and has an excellent taste in music, only the best of rock. It took him about twenty minutes to stop standing awkwardly and dance. Actually I might have shoved him onto the dance floor. By the end of it he was dancing, drinking, and enjoying himself more than I've seen him do in a very long time. As for hearing about in the tabloids, that would have been the picture of him getting kissed good night by Kita. She can be flirty, it really didn't mean anything. Though we did crash there. I made sure he did it once or twice more before I considered it mission accomplished. So, what do you think of him now Krystal?" Fay asked as she ended the story.

Adopting a comically thoughtful look Krystal pretended to take a few moments to consider her answer. "Hmmm. I think he's alive and capable of being more social than I've seen him so far. I like him more now."

Fay's tail wagged. "Yay! I knew I did the right thing back then. Though he was mad at me about the tabloid picture for months. Just goes to show you never know who's taking a picture of you at a party. Kita flipped out too though."

"What about you Miyu? Do you and Fox have any memories?" Krystal asked the lynx.

"Oh sure, loads. We dated for a little while about five years back." The lynx cast a glance at Fara as she said this.

"I'm not jealous Miyu." Fara replied as she met the other girl's gaze. "I don't know why you insist on trying to make me envious of it."

Miyu just waved a paw. "Oh don't worry I'm only teasing. You want to hear the story Krystal?"

"Please." Krystal nodded enthusiastically. "Though Katt I'm wondering why you didn't tell me about Miyu if you told me about Fara."

Katt shrugged. "Just listen, the relationship was a bit different. Fox and Miyu is...well just different, less cause for serious jealousy."

"I'm not jealous Katt, I never have been." Fara replied, looking increasingly annoyed at the constant implication that she was some sort of possessive, jealous, bitch.

"Just saying Fara." Katt replied, "I mean you did kiss his yearbook photo goodnight. But we'll let it rest. Tell us the story Miyu."

Miyu settled back in her easy chair a bit, bringing her legs up onto the seat. "So it was about five, maybe six years ago, back when I was still doing mercenary work. I got a mission to break up an arms deal on Fichina, it really wasn't a big deal, barely a blip on the defense force radar, which is why I was shocked when I ran into Fox in one of the mining towns. I asked him why he was there and he told me he had been hired for the same exact job I was on. Needless to say I was mad as hell. It's typical though with the military, hire a man to go in and help out the poor hapless girl who took the job. At least we were getting paid the same otherwise I might just have ended up beating the living shit out of my handler."

"Wait why is it typical? Why would they send a man to do your job if you could handle it?" Krystal asked, confused.

Fara grunted. "Even these days there are places that misogyny still has a grip. The military isn't as bad as it used to be but there are still plenty of asses there who think men will always be more qualified. It's just something you learn to deal with."

Shaking her head the only thing Krystal could think to say was, "Your world is strange. Go on Miyu."

"Anyways," Miyu continued, "We got into a bit of an argument at that point. Fox said he understood why I was so angry but that so long as I was there I might as well back _him_ up. Emphasis on me backing _him_ up. Fox is a wonderful guy but sometimes...well sometimes he's very protective of people he loves, women friends especially, that he doesn't realize when he's sounding irritatingly male chauvinist. It's rare with him but it happens. The fight lasted a little longer before we finally decided to work together and kiss and makeup. Except the kiss and makeup part ended up being a lot more than kissing. And unlike Fara no one interrupted us. To answer the question you asked though Krystal, yeah he's wonderful once you get him to let loose.

"After that we decided to give a relationship a shot. I never officially joined his team but I hung around for close to a year. Eventually though we just realized that the physical attraction was all we really had. Not that we didn't love each other as friends, but ultimately that romantic attraction wasn't there. So we ended it, like Fara he acted awkward for a little while, and then after a few months it all just turned into warm, fond, and somewhat sticky memories." Miyu added the last bit with a smirk. Fay rolled her eyes as did Fara, and Katt just let out a loud purr.

"My, Fox is quite the ladies man isn't he?" Krystal said. "Who else has he slept with? "

"No one else actually." Katt answered. "So far as any of us are aware he only ever got halfway there with Fara and never had it full on with anyone else but Miyu."

"Hence why she thinks I should be jealous." Fara added.

"I almost am a little." Krystal admitted.

Fara cocked her head. "Really?"

"Almost." Krystal reminded her. "Like I said he's very handsome. Isn't that right?"

"Very true." Katt said, "I don't know of any girl who wouldn't want him. Of course he dangles himself with such mastery it looks like he isn't even trying."

"Katt," Fara said, "That's because he isn't. He has a policy of never sleeping with his fans. Which is pretty noble."

"Eh." Katt shrugged. "I think he just has a policy against indulgence in general. But whatever makes him happy."

Krystal smiled and leaned back against the couch cushions as Fay and the others recounted a few more far less scandalous stories. Mainly just silly instances of Fox blushing or tripping over his own tongue, nothing she herself hadn't already experienced with him. As the afternoon turned to the evening the girls slowly began to make their excuses, Miyu because she had work in the morning, Fay because she had a date that she needed to be late for, and finally Fara said she had best get going so she didn't fall asleep doing test piloting. As she left Fara said to Krystal, "Hey, do you have any uh, intentions with Fox?"

Krystal cocked her head. "Intentions?"

"Do you mean to date him at some point I suppose." Fara elaborated.

"Oh. Um. Yes actually. I very much like him." Krystal answered. "I hope that won't be a problem. I don't mean to tread in your territory or anything."

Fara held up her paws. "Oh whoa not what I meant at all. You can definitely go after Fox. That boat sailed for me a long time ago, and I sort of figured you were interested anyways. I just meant that if you are we should get together more often, I might be able to give you some advice on how to attract his interest. Miyu and Fay too."

Krystal smiled and wagged her tail. "That would be wonderful."

"Brilliant." Fara smiled back, her own tail wagging. "You know fair la bise is good for saying goodbye too."

"Is it now?" Krystal said before leaning forward and giving the fennec a kiss on each cheek. The kisses were promptly returned.

"See you later Katt. And Krystal, Katt can give you all our numbers. Call me whenever Fox does something stupid or bashful."

"Will do." Krystal replied.

As soon as the door shut Katt came up next to her. "I think she likes you."

"I think so too. Were you worried?" Krystal looked at her friend inquisitively.

"To be honest, yes. Glad I was wrong though. What did you think of everybody?"

"I thought they were wonderful. We should do this again." Krystal answered happily.

"_Purr_fect." Katt said. "I'm sure all the girls would be thrilled. Now, let's make something to eat because I'm starved."

"Good idea."

* * *

That night Krystal fell asleep feeling remarkably satisfied with life. It had been a long time since she had met so many wonderful people. Fara had been amazing, Miyu witty and sarcastic, and Fay simply seemed bubbly, happy, and utterly affectionate to everyone she met. For a long time Krystal had been floating around without anyone she could call a friend, and rarely anyone to talk to but herself. She had nearly gone insane on more than one occasion. The planets she had visited she had never felt safe enough to stay on for more than a few days at most, and the few people she had met had never been particularly interested in getting to know her and becoming friends. In essence it had been a very long time since Krystal had felt like there was any place left in the galaxy she could call home. Now though, lying in bed in Katt's apartment, stomach full, a closet stuffed with new clothes, and a growing number of people who wanted to get to know her; Krystal finally felt like she had made the right decision in staying with Fox and coming with him to his world. "This is home." Krystal said softly to herself before closing her eyes and letting sleep take her.


End file.
